Chatham News

Commission: Neglect Contributed To Deterioration
CHATHAM – The historical commission has agreed to lift a demolition delay on a Cockle Cove Road house that has deteriorated beyond repair.
Commission members were critical of the lack of maintenance on the house at 26 Cockle Cove Rd., calling it a case of demolition by neglect. The administrator of the trust that owns the 1.1 acre property said the family has...

CHATHAM – On Monday, the first day in more than seven weeks that nonessential retail shops were allowed a limited opening, there was a light but steady stream of people downtown, and many businesses had thrown open doors and set up tables to provide curbside service.
No one expected sales anywhere near the level of past Memorial Days, but many merchants saw it as a glimmer of hope in what has been a devastatin...

CHATHAM – A free “virtual” historic bus tour of the town will be held online Saturday, June 13 to mark History Weekend.
The tour, sponsored by Historic Chatham, will run at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., and reservations are required as virtual seats are limited.
Last year’s bus tour guide and history buff Ron Clark will return to provide commentary at key historic points in Chatham and discuss the fascinating history...

East Inlets Treacherous, Stage Harbor Channel Still Being Dredged
CHATHAM – In 1620, treacherous shoals off Chatham forced the Mayflower to turn north rather than head south toward the vessel's original destination in the Hudson River Valley. Shoaling, both inside and outside the town's harbors, still plagues mariners nearly 400 years later.
Boaters will have to exercise caution navigating just about all of...

The traditional ceremony honoring the nation's war dead will be replaced this year by a “virtual” Memorial Day commemoration broadcast on television and streamed online.
To accommodate social distancing mandates and protect the health of residents, the virtual commemoration of Memorial Day will be recorded and shown on Channel 18 and YouTube on Monday, May 25, at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.
“Staff has been working o...

May Be Town's Oldest House
CHATHAM – William Nickerson came to the Cape's elbow in the mid 1600s to found his own community. He built a homestead for himself and his family on the shores of Ryder's Cove, and later welcomed others who settled throughout the area that is now Chatham.
The first settlers' homes are lost; all that is left of Nickerson's house is an outline in the earth and some artifacts discove...

CHATHAM – Twenty years ago, 23 larvae of the federally threatened northeastern beach tiger beetle were taken from a beach on Martha's Vineyard, the last known population in New England, and released on South Monomoy Island. Subsequent transplanting of tiger beetle larvae from the Vineyard to Monomoy took place annually through 2004.
To say that the tiger beetles took to Monomoy would be an understatement. The ...

Cape Task Force: Expect Muted Summer Season
With COVID-19 numbers starting to improve, the state took the first steps toward reactivating Massachusetts’ mothballed economy this week.
On Monday, Gov. Charlie Baker announced the start of a careful process of reopening shuttered businesses and restarting public activities, with the goal of reaching a “new normal” by the end of July. But for that schedule to ho...

CHATHAM — One of the town’s longtime “country doctors,” Thomas Halliday, III, M.D., died last Monday from complications of COVID-19. He was 86 years old, and was still seeing patients until shortly before he fell ill.
Dr. Halliday is described as a dedicated physician who cared about the people in his practice. Perhaps best known as a longtime partner at Chatham Medical Associates on Crowell Road, Dr. Halliday...

CHATHAM — Taking no joy in the vote, selectmen Monday canceled the 2020 Independence Day parade, fireworks, and weekly Chatham Band concerts. In a further effort to control the spread of COVID-19, the health board issued an emergency order requiring people to wear face masks while strolling downtown.
The decisions came on the heels of last week’s widely attended virtual forum where many citizens expressed the ...

CHATHAM -- A local resident has died of COVID-19, the first person in Chatham to succumb to the coronavirus, town officials reported late Wednesday. The individual was not identified.
In a two-paragraph announcement, Director of Health and Natural Resources said town officials offered condolences to the individual’s family and wold not release further information out of respect for their privacy.
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Amid mounting pressure to reopen the state’s dormant economy, officials are warning that with COVID-19, caution remains the watchword.
Gov. Charlie Baker this week announced a strategy for gradually reopening businesses, though the timing has yet to be decided. With the Memorial Day weekend just over a week away, business and civic leaders on the Lower Cape are all ears.
An economic reopening advisory board...